Process for artificially curing and caking the inside of pipes



July 7; 1925.

'H. F. RICHARDS PROCESS FOR ARTIFIC-IALLY CURING AND CAKING THE INSIDE OF PIPES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April s. 1922 ATTORNEY.

July 7, 1925. 1,545,466

. H. F. RICHARDS PROCESS FOR ARTIFICIALLY CURING AND CAKING THE INSIDE OF PIPES Filed A ril 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Shet 2 5 27 a l- 1 a v a a fi g I F164. He. 5. Fl a. b.

Patented July 7, 1925.

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To all whomit may concern: I 1 Be it known that I, HAROLD F. RICHARDS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at the city of Gincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Artificially Curing. an'd, Caking the Inside, of- Pipes, of which'th'efollowin is a'specification. 1' y invention relates to' theprocess, method and device. for artificially breaking in, curing, and cakin smoking pipes;.with-, outrendering-them oul and unfit for sale as a new article of manufacture. I It is a well knownvfact that new tobacco pipes, especially wooden pipes, .must be broken in by the smoker, that is, the smoker must continually smoke the f pipe until the inside of the bowl of the tobacco pipe is coatedrwith a layer of-carbon and bindingmaterials resulting from the combustion of tobacco; during this'process of caking the insideof the bowl of the pipe,

the smoker isobliged to suffer the unpleasant bites and odors which result from the contact of burning'tobacco with the raw wood, before the pipe has been broken in.

The object ofmyinvention is to obviate artificially smoke the pipe, and place upon the bowl, on the inside thereof, a layer or layers of carbon and thus the pipe can be sold new as an articleof manufacture, and at the same time be broken in V atthe time of purchase, ready to be used as if the pipe had been broken in by the purchaser.

Essentially, the method consists in coating the inner surface of the pipe-bowl with suitable materials and thentreating these materialswith heat, or with heat and a forced draft'of air, until the materials have been changed into a hard cake which clings firmly to the bowl and possesses the essential properties of the cake or crust that ordinarily accumulates on the bowl when the pipe is smoked for leasure. This cake is'a component part of the pipe wall and not a separate lining; and when the pipe is smoked for pleasure the cake is not consumed, but serves as a basic wall upon which further accumu lation of cake takes place naturally.

The materials which are spread on the inher surface of the bowl may include sugar, which, when sufficientlyheated willyield a deposit of carbon; finely divided tobacco, or derivatives of tobacco, to serve as a binder my device for artificially smoking the ipe, in position, and showing el Appllcatlon'nled Apr-115,, 1m. stun No. 54am.

' for the granular carbon which results from the charring of the sugar; licorice to bind the carbonand also to impart a palatable quality to theresulting cake; or any combination orm xture of these and any other materials which are capable of being formed into a firm cake that will perform the functions of the natural cake in preventing contact of burnm tobacco'witlr the wood of the pipe when it is smoked for pleasure and thus suppressing and eliminating the un-' pleasant: and-s ckening .tastes and; odors whlc'h result when; a new and uncaked pipe is smoked. Qther flavoring ingredients may be added to the mixture, iffdesired, so that the resultingcake will impart a pleasant fragrance to the smoke when the pipe'is put in use. I

I; In-the accompanying drawing formin a part of this specification: g Fig. 'l, 1s a side view of a pipe, the bowl part being in section to illustrate construcion, Fig. 2, is a plan .viewof a pipe, lookin down upon the same, the bowl part turne Fig. 3, is a section of the bowl of a pipe and part of the stein thereof, all these objectionsand inconveniencesand Fig. 4, is a section' of 'a pipe bowl showmg one coating of the carbon on the inside thereof,

Fig.- 5, is a similar view, showing a second coating of carbon on the interior of the pipe bowl, I

Fig. 6, is a similar viewto that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, exceptthat still another coating has been added and the caked carbon has been smoothed and evened up, .on the inner surface of the carbon coating, and

Fig. 7, is a view of a ipein side elevation, the bowl part being 1n section, showing the same in evation and partly 1n section. V

In the drawings, the bowl of the pipe is marked 1, the stem thereof 2, the mouthpiece 3, and the draft tube 4.

In the bowl 1, at the bottom thereof, on the inside, I place 'a plug 5 of asbestos, mineral wool, mica, transite or other non-heat conducting or poorly conducting or not readily combustible material, or any other suitable material, see particularly Fig. 7

In Fig. 7, I show an air tube 6, through which I produce a continuous or internnttent suction or air draft, by means of any device or apparatus, to which the tube leads,

which is not shown in the drawings, as such means are well known in the art. This tube 6, in the present instance, reaches down to plug 5, and at its lower periphe is provided with a multiplicity of small s its, holes.

no carbon layer has been applied, ailltlhou hla over e w o e carbon layer may be place inside periphery of the pipe as shown in Fig. 3, marked 15.

In order to cake a pipe, the air-intake at the bottom of the bowl is first stopped up with asbestos or other protectin material; the mixture described above is t en spread over the inner surface of the bowl, and finally a. tube woundwith a coil of wire is inserted upright in the middle of bowl. Suction apparatus, provided with suitable devices for regulating the air-craft and rendering it intermittent if desired, is attached to the upper end of this tube, which projects well above the pipe; and the lower end of the tube is provided with openings or notches so that a current of air passes down through the annular space between the bowl and the tube, and up through the tube. Heat is appliedto the coating on the bowl by passing an electric current through the heating coil, and a forced draft of air. may be applied during any portion of the period of heating, by means of the suction appa;

ratus. By repeating this process as many times asdesired, a cake of any required thickness may be formed in the bowl. The cake may be given a smooth orregular-surface either by polishing or by so regulating the composition and texture of the applie materials that a regular surface results directly from the final heating.

If it is desired further to improve the smoking properties of the pipe, tobacco or other suitable materials may be packed in the annular space between bowl and tube and this material ignited and smoked artificially with the apparatus already described above.

During the heating and charring of the materials which are spread on the inner surface of the bowl, or during the process of producing combustion within the bowl, no smoke passes through the stem of the pipe; and the wood around the air-intake at the bottom of the bowl may be left clean and new-looking, if the obstacle which closes the air-intake be suitably designed and disp 11 order further to improve the ap earance 7 of the'caked pipe the bowl may e ori nally bored so as have a narrow shoulfe r :of wood projecting near the bottom of the pipe, and the cake may then be fitted evenly v and smoothly against this shoulder of woo Thus the c e can be made flush and even with the uncaked wood, and the pipe presents anew and freshly manufactured appearance which shows a prospective purchaser that it has not been smoked in-the so.

natural way.

It will be noticed in the drawing, see particularly Figs. .4 and 5, that when one vof the caked coatings is applied it has a somewhat roughened or an uneven surface, so

that the next coating applied will adhere to the coat .upon which it is applied more perfectly and also adhere more readily.

By carbon is meant any carbonaceous matter or composition of matter containing carbon and by-products. After a smoker has f broken-in his new pipe, it is caked onthe lnside of the bowl with an adhering matter formed by the combined charring of the wood and the burning of the tobacco, thus a combined element or caked coating results;

the pipe at this time being fit for smoking in a pleasing, satisfactory, and desirable manner, and the object of m invention is to produce the same results smoking the pipe or treatin same in sue a waiyi that a broken in pipe results 1n1t1a y as an article of manufacture, for thus the purchaser need not break in such newly purchased pipe.

In charring the mixture on the walls of the bowl, or in-smoking the ipe artificially after the sugar syrup and other ingredients have been applied to the inner surface of y artificial] 1 the bowl, the tobacco, licorice, and other ingradients and their by-products adhere to the, carbon produced by charring the sugar, and the resulting cake may contain carbon, carbonaceous material, refractory oxides, tan-resins, and the like. i

What I claim as new and m invention and desire to secure by Letters atents is:

1. A process for treating smoking bowls, consisting in completely sealm u the draft-hole at the bottom of the bow an then coating the inner wall of the bowl with materials different than the material of which the bowl is composed and including tobacco or derivatives of tobacco, and then applying heat inside the bowl until the pipe changed and fixed to the wall of the bowl .as a not readily removable cake containing derivatives of tobacco and other materials.

2. A process for treating smoking pipe bowls, consisting in first scaling up the draft-hole at the bottom of the bowl, applying to the inner surface of the bowl a viscous mixture of sugar, tobacco, licorice, and water, and then applying heat inside the bowl until the applied materials have been chemically changed and fixed to the wall of the bowl as an adhering cake containing carbon, tars, resins, nicotine, ash, refractory oxides, and other materials.

3. A. process for treating smoking pipe bowls, consisting in first scaling up the draft-hole at the bottom of the bowl, ap-

plying to'the inner surface of the bowl a viscous mixture of sugar, tobacco, licorice and water, and then applying heat and a forced circulation of air inside the bowl until the applied materials have been chemically changed and fixed to the wall of the bowl as an adhering cake containing carbon, tars, resins, nicotine, ash, refractory oxides, and other materials.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature at Cincinnati, Ohio, this 3rd day of April,

HAROLD F. RICHARDS. 

